Mindfulness art therapy journaling toolkit for pre-service elementary k -6 teachers -strategies for assisting ESE students in accessing mental health supports by Kelly Jean Sullivan

 

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        Before COVID-19, more than 10 million American E.S.E. students had unmet health supports.  (Mental American Art Therapy Association Health America, surveys). Mental health awareness in the elementary student is desperately needed.  America's most vulnerable students at this moment educational future are at stake, as well as their and well-being.

Covid-19 has created unprecedented chaos and stress distance learning for E.S.E. students. Palm beach county is no exception. Only about 50 percent of students participated in virtual education. Students are getting little access to mental health services. There is still a considerable gap between elementary E.S.E. students and access to mental health services. distance learning will not serve as a substitute for the school being in the classroom

             The crises COVID-19 -19 are further exasperating the elementary school system that already has struggled to serve E.S.E. students effectively. There are 7 million students or 14 percent entitled to mental services.  This pandemic has overwhelmed the health care system and exposed and exacerbated a mental health crisis. Disruptions in the access to mental health services and supports for E.S.E. elementary students are at an all-time. Now is when E.S.E. students need help most. (AATA).85.7% of Teachers have become front line workers experiencing anxiety and stress adapting to distance and hybrid learning? (AATA).

78.4% of children are experiencing fears, worry, and isolation anxiety. As this crisis unfolds, teachers struggle with wait time and IEPS that state mental health services.  73% are not getting timely access to mental health services.  Some COVID-19 I.E.P.s are now impractical. IEPS that require mental health supports are becoming ineffective effective.

      When COVID-19 -19 hit, there were no plans to deliver services, and teachers have not been trained in alternative strategies to assist E.S.E. students in accessing mental health supports.

  E.S.E. elementary students depend on schools to meet their mental health needs. Parents are not trained to fulfill the I.E.P’ s the few virtual zooms meetings students are getting with specialists are ineffective, or E.S.E. students have no Wi-Fi access. Ese students need Services that can be given by touching students, guiding them, and not being down on zoom.

          E.S.E. elementary students are getting angrier, physically aggressive, slamming laptops down because their attention span on the computer is not what is needed to access services if they get them. 42 % of palm beach county's exceptional elementary education students do not have access to mental health services. (NASDSE)

        School districts have even been trying to increase virtual training for Teachers Elementary, only 42 % found this useful. But we need to start to train teachers who are in teacher education programs now. Children are missing developmental milestones and losing critical skills necessary for an independent lifeless. elementary who are overrepresented in E.S.E. may not have had technology or access. The digital divide is the students' inability to do schoolwork at home due to lack of internet. Not having access to those services is in direct violation of FAPE.

            Six hundred twenty thousand marginalized E.S.E. students face the most significant barriers to access to mental health supports. (NPR) .10% and 25% of students in most marginalized groups are likely to have had minimal or no access to mental health services since schools shut down in March 2020.6%-10% of students in these subgroups did not log in at all from March to May, and an additional 10%-15% logged in but did not view any educational materials or complete any assignments. They were all less likely than their peers to log into the district school platform in the spring.

        The COVID-19 crisis has heightened the awareness that access to computers and the internet is critical to children's access to mental health supports. We urgently need to look at ways to close these gaps (Pew Research Center) and find new strategies and interventions that may work.  three in ten parents are reporting that their children will have to attend class on a cell phone. (RAND Corporation). For ESE students (76 percent), families that earn less than $50,000 per year (73 percent), and single parents (72 percent).

         COVID-19 -19 school closures affect more than 50 million students, including 7 million students ages 3–21 who receive exceptional education services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). School districts face more challenges about providing remote learning for students served under IDEA while complying with civil rights and disability laws.

The education environment, namely where students with disabilities are served and educated, is an essential component in the student's "individualized education program" (I.E.P.). Teachers may need to reexamine each student's I.E.P. and determine whether students can access and progress in the eLearning course work.

         By increasing awareness of where students with I.E.P.s receive their services, teachers to make evidence-based strategy choices. This has changed since COVID-19. ESE elementary students have access to services in inclusive classrooms because this is where they get their services. I.E.P.s are meant to ensure that students with disabilities receive specialized instruction and services tailored to their needs.

. There is an unprecedented challenge for teachers in schools to assist E.S.E. students in mental health supports.

           The Department of Education legally requires that all districts provide I.E.P. services to E.S.E. students, including access to mental health supports. Under FAPE, a child right to free and appropriate public education. Palm beach county school district is federally mandated to provide E.S.E. elementary students education and access to support services as written in their I.E.P. under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act IDEA.

      We need to address how to serve the needs of elementary E.S.E. students' access to mental health supports to all students under FAPE. We need to think outside of the box to help teachers access mental health services for all E.S.E. students.

     Teachers must work with and integrated plans that meet each community's most vulnerable E.S.E. elementary students' unmet needs. We can no longer expect teachers leave vulnerable students worse off than they already are.

          Schools need to comply with federal laws and implement best practices of exceptional education. Data from I.E.P.s can assist teachers in deciding what new strategies to choose to assist ese students. Good IEPS will play critical roles in continued access to mental health supports during unplanned school closures.

      Since the pandemic, we need to reevaluate how E.S.E. students usually receive their education services. We need a systemic change that goes further to improve elementary schools for all children, especially the most vulnerable.

 Now is the time to reinvest in theories proven successful in the medical field and apply creative solutions even with limited resources and limited time.

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